Yet both employees and employers are realizing there are benefits to in-person work that can’t be gained through virtual workspaces. To get teams back to the workplace, workspaces need to promote physical and emotional health for employees, and be spaces where people want to work.

Brendan Wallace, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Fifth Wall, Henrik Ahnström, Director of Innovation at Skanska Commercial Development Nordic, and Stacy Smedley, Executive Director at Building Transparency, are all leaders in innovation, finding ways to make use of the latest digital solutions. Each, in their own unique way, is using technology to tackle our modern climate challenges head-on.

This episode features Brendan Wallace, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Fifth Wall, Henrik Ahnström, Director of Development at Skanska Commercial Development Nordic, and Stacy Smedley, Executive Director at Building Transparency. Each plays a unique role in merging the technology and real estate development sectors.

Tim Smart, Managing Director Phase 2 at HS2 Ltd, Louise Dailly, Head of Social Sustainability at the Skanska Costain STRABAG Joint Venture, David Ode, TBM Tunnel Superintendent HS2 at Skanska, and Fiona O’Riordan, Assistant Civil Engineer at Skanska, joined this episode to share how they’re turning the HS2 vision into a reality.

Sustainability is a team effort. No organization can achieve carbon neutrality on its own but, by working together, we can enact a holistic plan of sustainability that creates a cleaner, safer and healthier built environment.

A zero-energy building (ZEB) has such high energy efficiency that it consumes no net energy from the energy grid. Such buildings should generate enough energy from their own renewable sources – such as solar panels – to cover their annual energy requirements. A nearly zero-energy building (NZEB) has achieved almost the same levels, requiring minimal energy from external sources.

The world’s population recently topped 8 billion people, and more than half of those people live in cities today. This number is set to rise to 60% by 2030. We need our cities to be inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable in order to support this growing population. 

By giving thought now to what kinds of urban spaces work best, we can build comfortable, sustainable cities that improve life for ourselves – and for future generations. 

Developers and city planners across the globe are focusing on solutions that benefit people, communities and the environment. Mark Watts at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Guillaume Charny-Brunet at SPACE10 and Morten Kjer Jeppesen at Gehl are involved in creating sustainable cities through urgent climate actions.